A Day 'Til Death
by TheVideoGamer
Summary: Can the oddest of couples fall in love in a single day? Inspired by the hit TV series "24", GUN is threatening to shut down project Shadow by force and he and Maria only have twenty-four hours to live out the rest of their lives. They both have unexpressed feelings for each other, but will they be able to admit their true feelings before facing their horrible fate? Shadmaria, R
1. Prologue

Prologue

"We really should get to bed." A groggy Shadow pointed out as he sat next to his best and only friend, Maria Robotnik.

"I know, but I just love watching the Earth!" Maria replied, still full of energy, "Why must the one thing I cannot reach be so very beautiful?"

"I wouldn't say that." Shadow gently pushed one of her golden locks behind her startlingly pale ear. Maria had not been in contact with the sun since she was a very young child. Shadow hadn't in his life, but he didn't care as much because the ARK was all he had ever known.

"I happen to think you're kind of pretty."

Maria let out a feminine giggle, then said, "Oh Shadow, you're so cute!" She rubbed his silky black ears and Shadow began to purr. It was a low vibrating sound that, coming from Shadow, sounded sort of like a high-pitched growl. She laughed again. "Let's go to bed."

They silently stood up and Shadow took Maria by the hand. He was so tired that Maria had to practically guide him back to her room. Shadow's bed was more of an old cot in the experiment room, which was on the other side of the ARK, so Maria took him with her. they made their way down the metal hallway, Shadow half asleep while Maria looked through the one-way windows that revealed the inhuman creations of her grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. When they finally reached Maria's room, she let go of Shadow and ran into the connected bathroom to change.

Shadow looked around the white and powder blue themed bedroom. Maria had a bookshelf filled to the brim with books about Earth's grassy fields, barren deserts, snow-covered mountains, and so much more. It was next to a window that took up the entire wall to the right of her bed, not a single piece of furniture blocking the Earth below's stunning complexion. Shadow then remembered how tired he was and decided to sit down on Maria's bed for a moment. Before he knew it he was lying on his back at the foot of her flower-patterned bedspread, fast asleep.

That's when Maria came in, dressed in a cotten nightgown, a soft, light pink. She looked around the room for Shadow, but didn't see him, so she assumed he had gone to his own bed and and walked over to her's. To Maria's suprise, she saw her furry black and red friend sprawled out on her bed, completely under the spell of sleep. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get under her blankets with Shadow like that, so She gingerly picked him up in her arms and held him close to her. He was softly purring in his sleep.

Maria placed Shadow under her flannel sheets with her and turned out the light. She fell asleep beside him, listening to the low reverberating beat of his soft purr.


	2. 12:00 AM

12:00 A.M.

Professor Gerald Robotnik was sitting in front of a computer, typing up his proposal to the government for a new project, when the phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Space Colony ARK, Project Shadow Superviser Gerald Robotnik Speaking. Oh, Commander! How can I be of service?"

Meanwhile, the ringing phone had woken Maria up. Her grandfather's doorless office was just across the narrow hall from her room.

"Good morning, Professor. We are calling on behalf of Project Shadow. We've made a decision. We demand you to shut down the program."

"Excuse me?" Gerald Robotnik lowered his voice, his eyes wandering over to Maria's room.

"You heard me. Shut the project down."

"Commander, I can't do that-"

"Yes you can. That's an order!"

The professor looked to the ground, then responded, "...Yes Sir. I will shut the project down."

When Maria heard this, she became worried and decided to pick up the phone in her room and listen in.

"Shut it down completely." The commander ordered.

"I beg your parden?"

"I mean, don't just stop working on him. We've come to the conclusion that it's a threat to mankind and we want him euthanized."

Maria did all she could not to gasp, then glanced over at her bed, expecting to see Shadow sleeping peacefully, but he wasn't there. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back and saw him standing there, a blank expression on his face. She knew his excellent ears had caught the whole conversation.

"Why is that necessary-"

"I gave you an order, Dr. Robotnik! If you don't completely shut the project down, we will be forced to shut it down by force. You have until this time tomorrow!"

Gerald raised his voice slightly. "Please, Shadow isn't going to hurt anybody. He's my granddaughter's only friend, and they're inseperable! Just imagine what-"

"You will shut this project down! That is an order!" The commander screamed as Gerald held the phone away from his ear to avoid going deaf.

Finally, Gerald chose to say something he would regret for the rest of his life.

"No."

"Not an option! We will come up there by force if we have to!"

"I will not shut Project Shadow down in such a thriving state. This will be great, a true milestone for science. You just wait and see."

"I'm not bluffing, Professer! We will be forced to kill Shadow ourselves, and anyone who stands in our way!"

Horrible thoughts flashed through Gerald's mind of Maria trying to save Shadow, but getting killed instead. Maria's life would definitely be ruined all the same if he euthanized Shadow, though. She would never forgive him. He had to take the chance.

"I hope you bring good troops, because there's no way Shadow would let you kill him, and there's no way Maria would let you kill him either."

"Don't mock me, Gerald. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, the commander hung up and Gerald took the phone away from his ear. He stared at it in despair, and he heard Maria's soft crying start up behind the ivory bedroom door.

Maria's grandfather came rushing into the room and hugged her. "Did you two hear all of that?" Shadow nodded as Maria broke free of her grandpa's grasp and buried herself in Shadow's soft embrace.

"So, what now?" Shadow asked as they all looked at each other.

"Well, I'm not sleeping." Maria responded, barely audible through her choking sobs.

Shadow let her go and walked over to Maria's royal blue alarm clock. He set it for midnight. "We can do anything we want today, until I..." He looked up at Maria. "Until I'm gone."


	3. 1:00 AM

1:00 A.M.

Maria's grandfather had gone back to his office to try to negotiate with GUN, but they wouldn't budge. Either way, he said he would make them pay for being so rash.

"Shadow, I don't want you to die!" Maria continued to sob, "I'll have no friends. I'll be so lonely without you!"

"Shhh..." Shadow softly soothed, "Don't think that way. I'm not going to die. We're just going to have the best day of our lives. Okay?"

"Uh-huh..." Maria was leaning against the giant window in her room, snuggled up with blankets against her furry black friend.

"Let's do something fun." Shadow enthused.

"Like what?"

"Like, we should go take a tour of the top secret room!"

"Shadow, are you out of your mind? You know that's simply forbidden!"

"Exactly."

Maria sighed. Shadow had always been a little mischevious, going off and braking things that he wasn't supposed to see in the first place. It seemed like it was his lifelong dream to see that room. "You know what? Let's do it!"

Shadow's mouth pulled up into one of his rare but famous half-smiles. He grabbed Maria by the hand and ran down the hall as fast as they could, hoping not to encounter any scientists working late. As they ran through the metal, window-filled hallway, Maria's head began to hurt and she felt a searing pain in her chest. A series of images began to flash before her eyes. "Oh my God, Shadow..." She moaned as Shadow realized something was wrong. They sat down on the ground, because Maria looked like she was going to pass out.

"What's wrong? Maria? Talk to me, please!" Shadow begged as he watched her pupils dilate again and again.

"Shadow, I think I just had some sort of vision."

"...What?"

"Like, I saw us running down the hall, you pulling me by the hand. Then I saw some GUN soldiers chasing us. We reached a room, the one with the escape pod, and, and, I think I got shot or something... It all flashed by so fast." Shadow stared at her in disbelief. "I'm serious!" She said in irritation, knowing he didn't believe her.

"Okay, okay, I think we all just need to get some sleep here." He said, "Maybe we should take you to the clinic?"

"No, Shadow! Let's just keep going to the top secret lab!"

"Alright, alright."

When they reached the lab, there was a single guard on duty. "Terribly sorry, but you two can't go in here, and you know that." The guard said when Shadow tried to walk in.

"Mr. Patricks, James Patricks, right?" Maria asked, forming an idea.

"Uh, yeah." The guard confirmed.

"Well, James, have you heard the news?"

"Regarding Project Shadow's duration?"

"Yes."

"I have. Terribly sorry for the both of you."

"Are you?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Shadow now understood. He chipped in, "I'm only gonna be alive one more day. Will you please just let us in? I only have twenty-three hours to live out the rest of my life." Maria winced at his choice of words.

"Uh... I suppose I could." The guard responded, stepping aside, "I better not lose my job for this."

"Thanks!"

"Thank you so much!" Shadow and Maria thanked the guard as they walked through the fiberglass double doors of the top secret lab.

"Wow..." Maria breathed, "This is so much different than the other labs on the ARK."

"The funny thing is that they were all top secret too, but this one is like, the most top secret of them all." Shadow commented as he peeked through test tubes at the amazing creatures within.

"What's this?" Maria asked as she approached a huge habitat in the shape of a circle with what looked like quicksand running through slats in the concrete.

"Here's the description." Shadow said as he found a tag hanging on the concrete wall seperating them from the habitat.

"Oh, wow!"

"What?"

"This is the prototype of the ulitmate life!"

"I thought that was you." Maria said, rushing over to read the tag with him.

"No, I'm not the prototype. This thing is called the Biolizard."

"Wow." Maria said with a slight chuckle, "To think they went from a lizard to a hedgehog. My grandfather sure does like animals, huh?"

"Yeah." Then, as if on cue, a huge red lizard with tubes running from its mouth to the center of its back came trudging out of a tunnel in the exhibit.

"Make that a giant red lizard..." Maria said in awe. No wonder the ceiling was so high in the exhibit. The Biolizard was almost twenty feet tall!"

"I guess it was too immobile..." Shadow joked, thinking about the size comparison. Shadow was barely three feet tall!

The pair left the top secret lab, laughing and joking. At least they had shed some light on the otherwise gloomy day.


	4. 2:00 AM

2:00 A.M.

Shadow and Maria were watching the Earth, darkened greatly by the sun hitting the side opposite them. "Maria, why do you have to stay up here with me?"

"Well Shadow," Maria looked down to face him. They were sitting on a a large grey couch in the central lobby of the ARK, overlooking a huge window like the one in Maria's room. Shadow's head was resting on Maria's lap as they watched. "There are some people in the world who are very sick." Shadow's eyes grew wide. "Some people have to be in isolation to be healthy, like me. Grandfather took me up here when he got a job working on you. I was very little at the time."

"How little?" Shadow asked.

"Oh, I was probably three or four."

"Weren't your parents mad?"

"Nah..." Shadow stopped asking questions. He knew Maria didn't want to talk about it.

"I'm sorry I asked."

"Don't be. You're all I care about now."

Shadow sat up abruptly and looked Maria straight in the face. They were so close that their noses almost touched. "You're all _I_ care about." Maria opened and closed her eyes. Was this a dream? "You wanna know something?" Shadow asked softly.

"What?"

"I-"

"What?" Maria was desperate to hear the words, before he was_ gone..._

"...Nevermind. Let's do something else."

Maria's heart sank. "You know what? I really just want to sit here and snuggle with you."

"Oh, okay." Shadow laid back down on her lap. "Hey Maria?" For the first time in their history _ever_, Maria looked down to see his eyes glittering with tears.

"Shadow... What's wrong?"

"I... Really like you, and I don't want to leave you."

"Then don't." Maria choked as her eyes teared up. Shadow sat up again and wrapped himself around her in a bear hug.

"I won't, Maria. I never will."

"Thank you."

"I love you..."

Maria's eyes flew open in a mixture of happiness, shock, and excitement. "What did you just say?"

Shadow realized what he had said and wasn't sure how to interpret Maria's expression. "Uh, nothing. It doesn't matter-"

"You, you said 'I love you'."

"What? No I didn't."

"Yeah you did." Maria smiled from ear to ear, and Shadow took a mental sigh of relief.

Suddenly, she leaned in just as close as they were before, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I love you too."

Shadow's eyelids closed for a moment. He needed to collect his thoughts. "Will you love me forever?"

Maria knew exactly what he was getting at. "Yes." She rubbed his soft black ear and whispered, "Even after you're gone."

* * *

_Ah... Confessions, confessions. I love Shadmaria. I'm going to start writing author's notes when I feel like it now, so prepare to hear my opinions and perspectives on this story. I was on this website all day and night during the weekend, scrapping and posting stories. Most of them went straight to the garbage though. I must admit, I'm quite a picky writer. _

_I love writing endings like this one. I like to leave off with something cute so that fanfic readers will want to read the next chapter, then the next, then the next, and so on._

_P.S. I used to have a much lamer ending for this chapter. I'm so glad I changed it. I write this story mostly at night, which is when I get a little too "creative"..._


	5. 3:00 AM

_Warning: This is going to be a weird chapter. It started out serious, like usual, but a story like this is thirsty for a little comic relief, so I put some in. It "explains" why Shadow's best attack is called Chaos Blast, and it's pretty strange how it came to be._

* * *

3:00 A.M.

"I wonder how many people there are on Earth."

"Why don't you go count?" Maria asked jokingly, "I wanna know too."

Shadow looked up at her longingly. "I wonder if the ARK has more people on it than Earth."

"Really?" Maria asked, "The Earth is much bigger than the ARK."

"Yeah, but doesn't one of your books say that even though people have known Earth their whole lives, some haven't even seen a flowery field, or a snowy mountain top, or a vast, dry desert with their own eyes? Most people on Earth are actually just like us, Maria. Some people don't even take the opportunity when its been handed to them on a silver platter." He stood up from the couch in the ARK's lobby and slammed his closed fist against the wall. "I'll bet they don't even appreciate what they already have!"

Maria sighed. She got up and held Shadow's face in her hands. "I'm sure many of them do, Shadow. Many may not, but there's always someone who does." She smiled warmly and Shadow's furrowed brow weakened, his anger fading away with his love's soft touch.

"That still doesn't give them an excuse."

"That doesn't mean you should hate them."

"..." Shadow turned his head to face the window. "... I guess you could be right about that."

Maria smiled. "Are you tired yet? You were ready to pass out a few hours ago."

"A little, but I want to spend every last waking moment with you."

"That doesn't mean you can't while you're asleep."

"No. I'm not sleeping."

"Then I'm not sleeping either."

"Yes, you are."

"Not when you're..." Maria trailed off. She didn't want to say it. "Tell you what. I know how Grandfather manages to get by without sleep every few days. Let me show you." She led Shadow down the hall toward her grandpa's office. She peeked around the corner and saw him sitting in front of his computer. "Shoot." She whispered, he's still there. What are we gonna do to get him to leave?"

Shadow thought for a moment. "Hm... Maybe we can lure him out. Let me try something." He stepped into the room. "Excuse me, Professor?"

Gerald immediately recognized his creation's deep masculine voice. "I'm very busy, Shadow." He turned around in his spinning chair and was hit with recoil. He remembered what a tragic day it was going to be and decided to be extra nice. "How can I help you?"

Shadow wasn't sure what to say. "Uh, I, uh... Forgot where the restroom was."

"Shadow?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Never better." Shadow knew the professor was suspicious.

"Down the hall to the right. Exactly where it has been for over twenty years."

"Thanks." Shadow muttered, walking out the door.

"What was THAT?" Maria asked with a laugh as soon as they got behind her closed bedroom door.

"I froze up, okay?" Shadow defended.

"Well, it's a little unusual to forget where the bathroom's been. It's been there for over twenty years!"

"Well I've only been here for sixteen!"

"Okay, okay." Maria sat on her bed and hugged her knees. She looked at Shadow and sighed. "You're really kinda funny looking!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah! You've got your quill-spike thingies, and your natural black and red-"

"Yeah, yeah! I get it!" Shadow said, throwing his hands up in the air, but Maria continued.

"...And that head that's just WAY too big for that skinny little body-"

"I GET IT!" Shadow yelled, "Let's just go get that... Whatever you wanted from the professor's room."

"Alright. I'm just tired." When they got to Dr. Robotnik's study again, Maria whispered, "Allow me." She stepped in front of her grandpa. "Hi Grandfather!"

The scientist sighed. "What do you two want now?"

"Uh... You know what? I'm just gonna come out and say this. Can we have some energy drinks?"

"Eh, what the heck, right?" He opened a mini-fridge under his desk and tossed her a bright red can with the logo, "Red Cow" on it. He tossed a can through the archway seperating his study from the hall, and it instantly burrowed itself into Shadow's white glove. He had practically solidifyed in front of it.

"Wow, I sometimes forget you can teleport!" Maria said with a giggle.

Scratch that, he _did_ solidify in front of it.

Shadow snickered. "Thanks Professor. Let's go, Maria."

When they got back to Maria's room, they sat on her bed and opened their cans. "Red Cow?" Shadow asked, observing the covering.

"For copyright purposes." Maria said simply. Shadow's crooked smile surfaced for a split-second in amusement.

"You're so full of yourself." She joked as she took her first sip, then her second, then her third. Shadow practically chugged the whole can. When they had finished, they were drunk on caffeine, and they wanted more. "Hey, I have an idea!" Maria said.

"What?" Shadow asked.

"Let's go get more!"

"Okay!"

They waited until Professor Gerald had left for the lavatory, and snuck a few bottles back to Maria's room. "Hey." Said Maria when they were about to open their third bottles.

"What?" Asked Shadow.

"I dare you to drink that whole can without your inhibitor rings on!"

"Seriously? I could go insane! And I'm filled with caffeine!"

"Exactly!"

Shadow looked at the ingredients of his drink. "God, is this even a soft drink?" It was, but his metabolism was faster than Maria's. He wasn't quite as hyper. "You know what? Sure. I accept the dare." I never said it didn't effect him at all. He unclipped his shiny golden rings and they dropped to the floor.

Meanwhile, in the lab...

"Yes," Gerald Robotnik confirmed, "Just place that sodium nitrate over there. Oh, and Steve! I need three more orders of plutonium by next Friday for-" Suddenly, the whole team of scientists on duty went silent. A loud _BOOM!_ Could be heard coming from the other side of the ARK. "What in the-" Gerald cut himself off. "Shadow..."

He ran all the way to Maria's room, not needing to open the door to see the damage. A huge black mark covered the metal wall, as if it had been burnt. When he tried to enter, he found the doorknob flaming hot, so he covered his hand with his lab coat sleeve and proceeded to solve the mystery of the explosion. Sure enough, he found Shadow standing in the middle of what remained of Maria's bed, surrounded by other charred pieces of furniture. Maria looked up at him and realized it was time to explain. "Shadow had too many energy drinks... Without his inhibitor rings."

"Why would he take his rings off?" The professor asked in shock.

"Well, uh, I kinda dared him to."

"Maria! Really?" His granddaughter just looked at the ground. Gerald walked over to Shadow. "You. Out. Now." Shadow whimpered and left the room. He turned back to Maria after closing the door. "Tell me _exactly_ what happened."

"Well, uh..." Maria nervously picked at her nails as she spoke. "He kinda started to glow, like reddish orange, then drank the rest of his energy drink, and let loose a big red explosion. Just like a giant blast of chaos. Weird, right? Oh, I know!" She was still drunk on caffeine. "Let's call it a Chaos Blast!"

"Whatever makes you happy." Gerald replied, opening the door and peeking his head into the hallway. "Steve! Call a cleanup crew! And do we have any girls' furniture catalogs?"

* * *

_I've never had an energy drink, and I can only imagine what they will do to you. I hope you enjoyed this filler chapter with a hint of comic relief. Any plot suggestions or ideas for what Shadow and Maria could do? My brain is wiped out. In other news, I have a joint account with animeobsessed 1214 now and we're almost ready to post a personified Sonic the Hedgehog__ fanfic called Elurigh High (and yes, if you spell it backwards and change some of the letters it's Hyrule, we did that on purpose because we also love Legend of Zelda). Anyway, happy writing!_

_-TheVideoGamer_


	6. 4:00 AM

4:00 AM

"Oh. My. God." Maria moaned in agony, grabbing her head. She and Shadow were sitting on a creaky white bed that stood with the rest of the experiments' cots. There was only one other that was in prgress, though. Project Gizoid. Gerald Robotnik had found it recently and was working on it as a side project. But Maria had more of a liking to Shadow, of course. Maria was going to have to sleep in the bed beside Shadow until her room's wall was repaired and her furniture was replaced.

"Uhh... I can't believe you talked me into that. I have such a bad headache." Shadow looked back on the previous hour with remorse. The energy drinks had luckily worn off, and they were paying the price. He was just happy that he didn't look like a doofus in front of Emerl, the Gizoid. He was being worked on at the moment.

Maria stood up and walked out of the room, explaining only that she would be right back. When she returned, she was holding a bottle of pills. "These are painkillers." She stated as she handed Shadow the child-safe container. He twisted it upward, but it remained firmly intact. "You have to-"

"Hey," Shadow put a hand up to stop her. "I'm the Ultimate Life Form, Maria. I can do this." He tried again with no success, then bared his pointy teeth at the canister in irritation. He tried to bite the lid off and left a few dents in it, but to still no avail. "Agh!" He narrowed his bright red eyes in frustration and threw it at the wall. It chipped the white paint and fell to the ground, rolling until it hit Maria's shoes. She picked it up and pushed down on the lid as she turned, opening it with ease. "Wha- but- uh- COME ON!" Shadow furiously grabbed the bottle and started to pour the tiny capsules into his palm.

"Only take one!" Maria said, grabbing two from his hand and popping them into her mouth.

"You took two!" He exclaimed.

"Well, I'm bigger than you are. You're a hedgehog! I don't even know if I should be letting you have _one_." Maria responded.

"Fine." Shadow grabbed one and shoved it between his lips, swallowing shortly after. "Don't people take pills with water?"

"Well, I guess, if they want. Do you want some water?"

"Nevermind. Forget it." They sat in silence. "When does it start working?" Shadow asked impatiently.

"You have to give it some time." Maria said. "But don't worry. I know where we could go to get the pain off of our minds."

"Okay." Shadow jumped off of the old bed. "Where to?"

"It's a surprise." She took him gingerly by the hand and led him down the seemingly endless hallway of the ARK. When they reached the room Maria was looking for, she typed a code into the keypad and the door opened mechanically. They entered a large dome with a machine off to the side, but otherwise completely empty and undecorated besides the fact that the walls, floors and ceiling were painted as black as Shadow's fur.

"...What next?" Shadow asked distantly, admiring the unusual scene.

"This," Maria ran to the machine and motioned for Shadow to join her at its side, "is a neuro-mentis stimulation machine. It's amazing. If you clip this little gadget to your shirt, or in your case, your fur, it will project your dreams, fears, or anything else your mind can generate, into a reality that only you can experience."

"What?"

"Just put it on!"

She excitedly ran over to him with a small metal square with two flashing red lights and a knob. When she gave it to him, Shadow turned it over in his hands. He read what was written where the knob's arrows could point. In small print, the options were "Dreams", "Fears", and "Recent Thoughts".

"That's interesting. What does the 'Recent Thoughts' option do?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. Grandfather only told me about this a few days ago. I'm not sure if it's even done yet, but I figured we don't have much to lose."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm gonna try it on the 'Dreams' option first." Shadow said as he turned the knob and clipped it into his fur.

Suddenly, Maria saw Shadow's pupils shrink until they were miniscule. Shadow began to see the blackness of the room turn into a land of green and blue and purple. Every color he could imagine, but nothing was that dreaded ARK-colored chrome. There were puffy yellow trees and flowers that cured all diseases, but he hardly noticed them, compared to the beautiful sight he saw in the middle of this enchanted field. It was like time had slowed down, and the girl sparkled like a thousand diamonds covered her skin. She had shoulder-length hair braided with multi-colored flowers, a white dress of silk, and a face that blew him away. Not to mention those eyes that sparkled like giant sapphires in the dead of night. It was Maria through Shadow's eyes.

Real Maria watched as Shadow looked stunned in the middle of the dark, plain room. His wild eyes were on her. He stepped, ever so slowly, toward her stationary figure. She watched as he enchantedly pushed a yellow lock behind her ear and slowly, _slowly_, kissed her on the cheek. It was as if he was afraid that she would fade away, vanish and leave him alone. He was so close that his racing heart could be easily heard through the silence, and he whispered softly into her ear,"You'll never leave me." He wrapped his arms around her fragile body and locked her in a kiss. They seemed to be standing that way forever, until Maria reached up and turned off his clip. His pupils dilated, and he stared at her in shock.

"Amazing." He breathed as he released her from his iron grip. "Dazzling, really." He tried his best not to sound too shocked.

"Shadow, you're shaking."

"It was... so real. And then, it was just, _gone_." He stared at his hands, opening and closing fists as he tried to describe it to her. "Please, try it. You must."

"No, I'm okay. Thank you." Maria replied, shocking her love.

"But, but, why not?"

"I... Uh... Don't want my dreams to..."

"I'm not really following you." Shadow replied, putting his arm around her.

"Okay, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." Maria gave in, turning the knob on her device, which was now clipped into her medium blue blouse.

She blinked her eyes a few times to make sure what she was seeing was true. She was on Earth, on the top of a mountain, seeing everything below her. Cities, fields, deserts, oceans, everything. Shadow was next to her, holding a _child_. "Shadow, uh, who is that?"

"This is your daughter, Sarah Sky."

"Daughter?"

"Yes!" The dream Shadow smiled at her warmly, gently handing her the baby.

"Sarah Sky..." Maria said the words slowly and clearly. "How unusual, but how beautiful."

"I know. You picked it, remember? Back on the ARK?"

She smiled at the gorgeous Hedgehog beside her. Shadow's quills were perfectly combed, his fur sleek and clean. Jet black and crimson. His eyes were so warm, such a gentle red. "What about GUN?"

"They changed their minds, remember? They never came after all."

A tear trickled down Maria's cheek in happiness. "I love you."

"I love you too"

Then suddenly, just as soon as it had solidified around her, Maria's world of wonder and happiness was gone. Shadow turned off the power, and Maria was back to reality. Where she would never go to Earth, never live long enough to have children, and never have one to father them. Shadow was still going to die. GUN wasn't changing their plans.

Maria would never have her happy-ever-after.

* * *

_You all have my deepest apologies for the insanely long wait. I needed to work on one of my other big fanfics, Elurigh High. But anyway, does anyone have any ideas for what they could do next? I don't feel like I'm grasping a good storyline, and I have so much space to fill if I want this to have a chapter for every single hour of the day. Only nineteen chapters to go, unless GUN comes early. If you think I should skip ahead, please give me a heads-up, because I'm doing everything I can for you to enjoy it better._

_Happy writing!_

_-The VideoGamer_


	7. 5:00 AM

_Warning: This chapter contains a spoiler from the Shadow the Hedgehog video game._

* * *

5:00 AM

Shadow and Maria sat against a solid black wall in the lightless experimentation room. After messing with a machine created by Maria's grandfather, they were forced to face the fact that their dreams weren't going to get a chance to come true. "Shadow?" Maria sat up and faced the black hedgehog.

"Yeah?" Shadow tiredly rested his head against her, yawning.

"Are you upset?" Shadow didn't answer. Typical. "Is that an animal instinct or something?"

"What?"

"Not showing weakness. I'm trying to decide whether that's an animal thing or just your personality."

Shadow shifted away and rested his hands behind his head. "A little of both, I suppose. But anyway, the 'dreams' setting on this thing was fun." He motioned to his metallic clip. "I dare you to set it to 'fears'."

"Why would we do that?"

"Well, it made us so sad to see everything we wanted but wouldn't have. Don't you want to know what you'll never have to deal with."

"Well," Maria hesitated, then said, "I will have to deal with my fear." Shadow looked at her, then stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Fears are always worse than the real thing. I promise you that. And I'll bet I have the same fear as you do, anyways."

A smile hinted at Maria's grim face. "Fine." She stood up and walked to the middle of the room. "Here it goes." With her thumb, she pushed the knob into place and Shadow watched her eyes drift into some kind of sub-consciousness. She looked dazed, then in an instant she was screaming. "No! No! Don't take him! No!" Shadow ran over at supersonic speed and shut the device off. She stood there, panting, looking traumatized. "Thank you..." She whispered.

"What was _that_?" He wondered aloud.

"My worst nightmare." Maria said scratchily, trying to stop her self from shaking violoently.

"What happened?" He led her back to the wall where they were sitting earlier. She took a deep breath and began to explain. "Y-you were there. And, um, GUN was there. The commander, Abraham Tower, was there. They were," She took another shaky breath, then continued, "they were shooting you. My clothes were soaked in your blood. You were so, mangled. You looked tortured. Everything was falling apart. Then you shut it off, and everything was gone."

"Wow." Shadow looked into her deep blue eyes. "I... guess it's only fair that I try it too."

"What? No, it's-" Shadow put a hand on her arm.

"I dragged you into this." With that, he clicked his stimulator on.

He stood up and ran to the other side of the room. His eyes flashed back and forth between Maria and something that wasn't there. "It's not real!" Maria cried out. Shadow souldn't hear her. He was somewhere else.

He kept running around the room, back and forth, back and forth. Panting, desperate to escape. Suddenly, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. Then he kept running. Back and forth, back and forth. Finally, he stopped for good, putting his hands up and feeling something that resembled an invisible cage, yelling, "Maria! No! Maria!" After a few seconds, he saw down, hugged his knees, and put his head down, sobbing. The real Maria ran over and shut his clip off.

"Let's never use this _thing_ again." Maria said softly, trying to calm him down.

"But, there's one more option!"

"NO." With that, Maria led them back to Shadow's sleeping quarters.

When they got to their destination, Shadow sat down on his bed, and Maria sat down beside him. They sat in silence, until Maria shattered it with four words, "What do you fear?"

"The same thing you do."

"But, you were shouting my name. I was fearing for _your_ life."

Shadow hesitated before saying, "I know I should be worrying about my own death, but all I can think is, 'What if you got hurt?'"

"So... What did you fear exactly?"

"Well, when I turned the thing on, I saw us running through the hallways. I was pulling you by the arm and we ran like that for a while, with GUN soldiers chasing us. Then, well, we ran into the central control room, and when I passed over the escape pod launch circle, you ran over to the machine and closed it on me." Maria gulped as he said this, imagining the scene vividly. "You had your hand on that lever, and the soldiers came flooding in behind us. One... raised his gun to you, but you pulled it anyway." Shadow was shaking again.

"You can stop if you want to." Maria felt bad for putting Shadow through the pain again.

"Thanks." He tried to shake it off, but his voice was hoarse.

"What did you dream?" She asked, wondering if it was too personal of a question.

"About perfection. Pure freedom, happiness, Earth, but mostly about... you." He lightly stroked her clenched fist as he spoke. "You weren't sick, you were the happiest I'd ever seen you, and we would be together forever." He leaned in and kissed her, stroking his fingers through her usually neat hair. The day's events had caused quite a panic, and she hadn't brushed it in a while, but she still looked perfect to Shadow. When he pulled away, Maria could tell what he was thinking.

"My dreams are similar." She responded to his obvious thoughts with passion in her eyes. She put a hand over her heart as she spoke. "When I turned on my neuro-mentis simulator, I was standing at the top of a mountain that overlooked everything I could possibly dream of seeing. Jungles, cities, oceans, as far as the eye could see. You were standing beside me, and we were so... _happy_." She cut herself off there, wondering if Shadow would be weirded out by the child she had met.

"Is that everything?"

"Uh, yes."

"I don't think it is."

"How do you know?"

"I can see it in your eyes. There's something extraordinary that you don't want me to know." Shadow playfully bared his teeth, showing off a devilish grin.

"It's not like that!" Maria protested, reading his expression.

"Then tell me, before I jump to conclusions!" Shadow chuckled.

"Well, you were holding a _child_."

Shadow grinned. "Uh, was it out child?"

"Yes. I know, it's silly."

"No, I never said that. It's cute, but like, was it ours?"

"Yes!" Shadow looked perplexed. "What?" She asked in irritation.

"Well, is that even possible? You're a human, and I'm a hedgehog."

"Slash Black Arms." Maria added, pointing out that he, himself, was a cross between two different species.

"Okay, fine. But that was an expirement in a lab. Is it even possible for us to have a kid?"

"Hm. I don't know."

"Was it, like, a mutated creep or something?"

"Shadow!"

"Sorry, sorry, I forgot this was just a dream. It wouldn't actually happen."

"Thanks for pointing that out."

"Sorry. But hey, look on the bright side. We don't have headaches anymore!"

"Oh, you're right!" Maria laughed.

"Sorry for that comment." Shadow apologized, "I didn't mean to say that your dreams aren't gonna come true."

"It's okay." Maria replied, "Maybe, just maybe, it will."

"I just might." Shadow agreed, watching Maria lay down on his bed. He laid down with her and she put an arm around him. Together, they stared out the window in silence, listening to the hum of machinery in neighboring rooms. Then, in no time at all, they had both drifted off into a deep, serene slumber.

* * *

_Anyone getting tired of these two just doing something crazy and then cuddling? I am. Get ready for me to mix it up a little. Next chapter, a certain military unit we all know and love (or hate) will be making their stop at the ARK a little earlier than expected..._

_-TheVideoGamer_


	8. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog

_Sorry for the huge delay! I know, it was a HUGE wait for this last chapter, but I have been SO FREAKING BUSY. It's not like I even have a right to use that excuse anymore, though. I was thinking about this fic the other day and suddenly thought, "Oh crap! The last chapter!" So, here ya go! I hope you all enjoyed this while it lasted, but love just doesn't get its way sometimes. Trust me, I would know..._

* * *

Shadow's Eyes shot open. "Oh my god. Oh my god!"

"What?" Maria asked as she woke up.

"How long did we sleep?"

"Um, I have no idea." Maria admitted. "Oh, crap!"

"What?" Shadow asked frantically.

"Well, one of the side-effects of that hallucination gizmo might've been lengthened sleep. I'm so sorry! I forgot!"

"Hey!" Shadow put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. We're going to be okay. It's only -"

"What?" Maria asked as Shadow froze.

"It's midnight..."

they stayed silent like that as Shadow slowly turned away from an alarm clock mounted on the end table that accompanied the bed. the silent was long and painful as the two exchanged horror-filled glances. "What do we do?" Maria whispered, breaking the silence.

"I-I..." Shadow sat on the bed in shock, and Maria put her arms around him. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her from the bed.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

Shadow didn't say a word, but his pained expression told her everything. He was terrified, looking for any way - any way at all to prolong the time they had together. He unclipped his inhibitor rings and blew a hole in the wall, leading to an opening in the thick walls. He pulled her through and around the hot, red metal and they crawled through the enclosed crawlspace that the strange design of the ARK's interior walls allowed. It was freezing due to the smaller amount of insulation from space, and again Maria asked, "What are you doing!?"

"Saving us." is all he said in reply.

Suddenly, Shadow stopped crawling and his ears twitched. He sniffed the air carefully, then yelled, "GET BACK!" shielding Maria. Right on time, there was a massive explosion that burned the walls - front and back - completely black. Shadow, using his foot, pushed through the melting blackness and they appeared in the hallway as he grabbed and pulled her out.

Maria looked around them, and saw a soldier approaching the corner. She figured Shadow would do something, but he just stood there, watching the GUN soldier. His black ears drooped, and the soldier raised his pistol. "I wouldn't do that." Shadow said simply, his ears perking up and baring his teeth. A low growl rumbled through his throat and if Maria didn't know any better, she would've shaken with fear herself. Time seemed to slow as the soldier fired and Shadow glowed with rage. That's when Maria remembered that he was holding his inhibitor rings in the hand that wasn't clinging to her wrist. He developed a malicious red aura that encased his body and the bullet surged toward him. Maria closed her eyes at the noise, but when she reopened them, she saw that Shadow was holding the bullet in his hand. He set it between his teeth, and with a crunch, the bullet was in pieces. He spit it onto the floor.

"I warned you." Shadow whispered. In another second, he was behind the soldier already and hit him in the back of the head. He watched the man fall, then ran back to Maria. He clipped his rings back into place and they ran through the hallways. Shadow wanted to find a place more concealed, but he knew he wouldn't. They couldn't turn back and go to the hole in the wall, because that unconscious soldier had surely been found at this point in time, and they were in high offensive mode.

Suddenly, there were voices heard around the corner and Shadow peeked his head around to see. It was two scientists, worrying about the invasion. "What if they find us?" Asked one, "They're killing everyone accept the professor! I thought they were just terminating Project Shadow!" As soon as that sentence was finished, a squad of soldiers came around the corner and shot at them furiously. Blood splattered everywhere, blinding Shadow with red. When he came back around the corner, there was blood in his fur and Maria was holding back the urge to cry.

"Come on!" He whispered, grabbing her by the wrist again and urging her forward. She tripped, though, and a soldier heard her fall. "I think there's something around the corner!" One yelled to his troop, and soon enough, they saw their target, helping the project leader's granddaughter off the ground. They began to fire at both of them, and Shadow blasted them all onto the ground with Chaos energy. A lead bullet nearly pierced Maria's arm, though, and they kept running.

Finally, they reached the central control room. Shadow locked the doors and ran to an escape pod. He jumped inside of it. "I think it can hold two!" He enthused, "Oh, but..." They both remembered. Someone needed to pull the lever and send it into space for it to work, and the lever was hooked up to a computer on the other side of the room. "...You'll have to go without me." Shadow said, turning to leave the enclosed glass space. But before he could leave, he noticed that Maria had slammed the glass door shut behind him. He heard the locks click into place, and he slammed his hands against the glass in shock. "No!" He screamed, "No, no, no! don't do this to me! You're a young human! You have a future!"

"No." Maria said with a solemn smile, "I don't. I have that disease. I wouldn't live long on Earth anyway. You'll have to replace me in the future."

"Never!" Shadow yelled, "Please!" He begged, "Just, please don't let this happen!" He set his back against the glass in defeat. He slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Maria..."

Maria kneeled down and look him in the eyes. Hers were red and puffy too. "This is what you were made for. You can finally help humans! And, be friends with _them_!"

"But, but, I don't want any other friends... I want you..." Shadow whined.

"I'm sorry." Maria said. Suddenly, the door began to shake and rattle. The troops almost had it down. Maria ran to the lever and tried to pull it down, but it was stuck. The door burst open and soldiers aimed guns at her. Shadow gasped, feeling more helpless than ever.

Then it hit him. _This is really happening..._ He thought to himself. _Maria's vision... I didn't believe her!_

Shadow got up and glowed with his red aura. He was determined to break down the glass. It was probably too many soldiers for him to stop, but he had to try anyway...

Meanwhile, Maria was pulling down on the lever with all of her might. "I'm warning you..." One of the soldiers threatened, "Don't set that _thing_ free."

_That thing?_ She thought, _I will set him free. I will set Shadow free._

Finally, the lever gave in and the soldier fired. Shadow heard a gunshot and Maria fell, a pool of blood forming fast underneath her. His red aura went out completely when he was struck with the reality of the situation once again. Maria looked up at him from her spot of red on the floor, and said, "You'll have to replace me in the future. Please Shadow, I beg of you. Don't judge the humans by these people. You must them a chance to be happy. That's why you were brought into this world. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Maria!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as the escape pod descended rapidly through the layers of metal that make up the ARK. Suddenly, he was surrounded by stars, hurling toward Earth with fire all around him as he flew through the atmosphere. He choked back a sob, and grabbed his head in his hands. "I couldn't save her! I couldn't save her!" He threw his head against the fiberglass and screamed in rage.

His life. His dreams. Gone. Ruined. Murdered.

By those pathetic humans.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

In a room filled with rubble, an alarm clock beeped.

Not a room destroyed by GUN, a room with melted walls and remains of a girl's furniture.

A single, royal blue clock. It's half-destroyed, demonic sounding beep pervaded the wrecked hallways of the ARK. It was set for midnight.

By Shadow.

Beep, beep, beeeeeeee...

The End.


	9. Epilogue, and A Thank You To All

Tears flowed from Shadow's ruby eyes as he sat in the capsule, flying toward Earth. "Whatever happens," he whispered, "No matter what, even if it's the last thing I do, I promise you Maria; REVENGE!"

* * *

_When I started this fanfic, the first thing I said was, "This is just an experiment. I'm not going to make anything out of this anyway, because I don't write romance." Well, I had no idea that this would become the story it is today, and I know that I never would have been able to do it without all of you viewers out there, cheering me on and giving me advice. I've gotten loads of compliments and kindness, but truthfully, I don't deserve it all. you guys deserve most of it, since you made this happen. So if you liked this fic, don't think that it's because I wrote it. It's because you guys cheered it on and didn't let it fall when it neared the edge, no matter what. In conclusion, I just want to say "thank you" to all the readers out there, with all of my heart._

_Shadow and Maria thank you also, for giving them a slice of paradise before it was all over._

_Sincerely,_

_-TheVideoGamer_


End file.
